I Let Go of My Accumulations

I Let Go of My Accumulations

This is a Black American prayer. I came across this beautiful poem in May 1997 and share it now with all you friends.

My ego is like a fortress.
I have built its walls
stone by stone
to hold out the invasion
of the love of God.

But I have stayed here long
enough. There is light,
over the barriers, Oh my God.
The darkness of my house
forgive
and overtake my soul.

I relax the barriers.
I abandon all that I think I am,
all I hope to be
all that I believe I possess.

I let go of the past,
I withdraw my grasping hand
from the future,
and in the great silence of this moment,
I alertly rest my soul.

As the sea gull lays in the wind current,
so I lay into the spirit of God,
my dearest human relationships,
my most precious dreams.
I surrender to His care all that I have called my own.

I give back
all my favorite things
which I withhold in my storehouse.
I let go.

I give myself unto thee
O my God.
Amen.

--Howard Thurman


January 28, 2006